Chinchillas have very small digestive systems and are unable to control their bowels. Although chinchillas can be trained to urinate in designated areas if taught from a very young age, training them to poop in a specific spot is considered to be impossible. Chinchillas will poop all over their cage, and if you handle your pet, expect that they will also poop on you!
Thankfully, chinchilla poop is easy to clean and does not soil clothing. Scatter guards are a common and effective choice. Scatter guards attach to the bottom portion of the cage bars and block items like shavings, food, and of course poo from falling out.
These guards can also be added to taller areas, such as ledges, where you may notice poop exiting the cage. Your chinchilla will end up treating the guards as a chew post, which is an added benefit. Many vendors will also create custom guards, and due to their accessibility, scatter guards should be the first line of defense to keep chinchilla poop in the cage.
Having a cage with a wire bottom and slide-out tray makes poop containment and removal super easy! As described, these types of cages have a wire bottom and a metal tray that pulls out from beneath the wire flooring. Bedding is placed in the cage as normal, however, when it comes time to change shavings or remove pieces of poop, all you have to do is pull the tray out.
Deeper trays are preferable as they catch more poo and prevent your chinchilla from sitting right on top of urine soiled shavings. To make cleaning even easier, consider using fleece as a cage liner instead of shavings.
Fleece acts as a washable, urine-absorbent pad and is completely safe for your chinchilla as long as they do not consume it. Be wary of cages not designed specifically for chinchillas as they may not be appropriate and can contain harmful elements.
Look for a cage with a metal tray as chinchillas will chew on just about anything and plastic can break off easily, creating a safety hazard if swallowed. Coated bars will also present a problem if chewed.
While you can train your chinchilla to urinate in a litter box in their cage, getting them to defecate in it is a bit trickier. The fact is that it is practically impossible to get your pet to do this. This will significantly increase your overall chances of success. This is a big problem, because aroma plays a major role in litter training. While you can certain try to do this, it will most likely be a complete waste of time.
Handler, blue cross volunteer, owner of Chinese crested kennel "Salvador Dali" and breedless friend called Fenya. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Do Chinchillas Poop a Lot? Anna Liutko Updated: August 11, How Often Do Chinchillas Poop? Can Chinchillas Eat Rabbit Food? Previous: « Do Fish Cough or Sneeze?
Written by: Anna Liutko. Leave a reply. I have shelves for my chinchilla to jump on all over the cage. If a lot of poop is in the cage on shelves or even on fleece liners it is easy for the lightweight poop to get thrown around and thrown out of the cage. My recommendation is to consider adding scatter guards to the cage Link to Amazon. This will eliminate a lot of the poop and other items that find a way to fall out of the cage.
It is a tiny little nugget. Grab a broom or vacuum, and the problem is solved is in less than 10 seconds. It has always taken me roughly 5 to 10 minutes to complete a full cage cleaning.
You should also take a moment to read my post about how to keep chinchilla poop in the cage. Yes, you can potty train a chinchilla. However, you can only potty train a chinchilla to urinate in a litter pan.
Getting your chinchilla to poop in a certain spot will not happen. Refer to my post about how to potty train a chinchilla here for more information on this topic. It indicates that something may be wrong with your chinchilla. You may have an issue and need to consult with a vet as soon as possible.
Chinchillas can get sick and usually when they do, it advances rapidly. It ensures you are caring for your chinchilla correctly and making sure you stop illness before it has time to become something more serious.
No chinchillas are not smelly at all. I have an entire blog post dedicated to discussing if chinchillas smell. It will give you a full break down of what to expect as far as the odors that a chinchilla can produce.
Overall, I think current chinchilla owners would all agree that they are clean, odor free-animals. Yes, it is possible that your chinchilla eats its own poop. The actual act of eating poop is called coprophagy. In most circumstances, a chinchilla will not eat its poop. But in rare cases, when the poop contains undigested nutrients and vitamins , a chinchilla may eat this poop to get the nutrients it needs. If the poop hits the floor, they will not eat it.
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